The House of Gale
by AnEmeraldPoppy
Summary: A following on "Majesty." Vaeda and Thalie, Athaliea's granddaughters, have their own links to make in the line of Gale women. A dark shadow of the past comes back to haunt the Cains and the Gales. Vaeda must learn the importance of family to save Thalie.
1. Leaving Finaqua

Chapter One

"Vaeda, we have to go, now!" DG called from the other room. Vaeda, her blonde hair swept into an unusually neat knot, sat on the end of her bed, scowling at her reflection with her arms crossed.

"Mom, it's…" she trailed off, unsure of how to describe the dress she had been forced into. "It's _pink_!" Vaeda stood up and opened the door, where her parents stood, both dressed in their finest for the Eclipse Day celebrations.

"Baby, it looks beautiful on you," DG said soothingly, straightening the offending dress on her daughter's shoulders.

"It looks great on you, even if it is pink," Cain told her, nudging her jaw and eliciting a small smile from his daughter.

"I never have to wear it again after today?" Vaeda asked yet again, fixing her mother with the violet stare she had picked up from her grandmother.

DG smiled and kissed her forehead. "No, sweet pea," she said. Vaeda heaved the dramatic sigh of a martyr and held her wrist out to her father.

"Lead me where you must," she said.

Cain laughed and squeezed the back of her neck playfully, pointing her to the door. "Come on, you."

"Vaeda, you look beautiful," Athaliea called as her older granddaughter flew down the stairs to her.

"Thank you, Grandma," Vaeda said, standing on tiptoes to kiss her.

"Sorry about the pink," she whispered in Vaeda's ear. The girl smirked as she kissed Ahamo, who stood next to his wife, one arm around her waist.

"Very pretty, Vaeda," he said.

"Thanks," she shrugged.

"Are we just waiting for Az and Ambrose, then?" DG asked as she and Cain caught up.

"And Thalie," Vaeda said, looking around hopefully. She was not used to being separated from her cousin for longer than a few hours at a time, and they had not seen each other since the previous night; their mothers had insisted they sleep in their own rooms, or they would not have been able to stay awake during the celebrations.

"Here we are!" chimed a high voice from the top of the steps opposite those that Vaeda and her parents had just come down. A tall girl with short dark hair was half-running down the stairs, wearing a blue party dress, and barrelling straight towards Vaeda.

"Thalie, no—" Azkadellia's admonishment from the staircase was too late to stop the two cousins colliding in the middle of the hallway, giggling hysterically. When they broke apart, they were still holding hands, and a shimmering light played between their interlocked fingers. Azkadellia rolled her eyes and smiled helplessly as she and Ambrose approached their family.

"You look pretty, Aunt Az," Vaeda said, coming up behind her aunt and accepting a hug from Ambrose.

"Glad to have your approval, V," Azkadellia answered lightheartedly. She, too, was already dressed in a dark silver gown. She smoothed a stray hair back under the crown she wore atop her elaborately set locks, then looked around. "Shall we go?" she asked. Everyone began to move towards the doors of the Palace, into the bright sunlight of Finaqua.

Vaeda and Thalie brought up the rear, swinging their hands between them. "V, is that pink?" Thalie asked wonderingly. Vaeda rolled her eyes. "You should wear more dresses like this," Thalie told her thoughtfully after a moment. "They look gorgeous on you."

Vaeda shrugged as they stopped and waited for their parents to get into the cars. "Tonight should be fun, anyway. I remember the tenth Eclipse Anniversary Ball."

Thalie screwed up her face, trying to remember. "Was I there?"

"Yes, but you stayed upstairs all night long. You were only about four annuals," Vaeda told her. "I was eight, I got to stay longer. This time, though, we'll both stay, and have a wonderful time," she added at the slightly disappointed look on her cousin's face.

"Vaeda, Thalie," Athaliea called from where Ahamo was helping her into the second car. "Come on, girls, you're riding with us." The two cousins smiled at each other and ran to their grandparents, excited to go to Central City.

* * *

Hello, my friends!!

I've missed you and your wonderful reviews. So here we begin "The House of Gale," a sequel to "Majesty." Now, you don't have to have read "Majesty" to understand this story, so I thoroughly encourage you to keep reading. This is a brand new adventure for Athaliea's grandchildren. I'd like to thank my marvelously fabulous beta, wildsky, and I'm going to plug her Tin Man stories coming up real soon. They are really exciting, and you all should keep an eye open for them. Thanks for reading!

Love,

Fae


	2. The Embassy

Chapter Two

Thalie and Vaeda were more like twin sisters than cousins; everyone thought so. They had almost the exact same mannerisms, same habits, and the same tastes in almost everything, even if they looked different. They studied magic together with Tutor, the old magic teacher, and were essentially inseparable, despite their age difference. The day that Athaliea (for that was Thalie's full name) was born, she and Vaeda had connected on some supernatural level. It was thenceforth almost impossible to find one without the other.

There was only one other person who was allowed in their closest circle and that was Sky. Sky was Vaeda's nephew, of sorts. Her half-brother, Jeb, had married a woman from the Resistance named Madigan about an annual after Vaeda was born. Sky was one annual older than Thalie.

Both girls were excited to see Sky; it had been a long time since the three had been united. Jeb and Madigan worked in the Central City Embassy. They normally came down to Finaqua every few months to see their family, but had not been for a long time. The preparations for the fifteenth Eclipse Day were tremendous and time-consuming.

"Vaeda," Athaliea said, nudging her granddaughter as she nodded against her shoulder. "We're here, sweetie."

Vaeda sat up a little, lifting a sleeping Thalie as she did so. The car was pulling into the wide stone roundabout driveway of the Embassy, brightly lit in the lowering suns' glow. "Tee," she said, moving her cousin. "Thalie, wake up."

Thalie opened her big brown eyes, bewildered for a moment. Then she looked out the window and saw Sky, standing with his parents on the steps outside the building, and her face broke into a grin. The second the car stopped, Thalie flung her door wide and ran straight for Sky. She could never break her habit of giving overenthusiastic greetings, especially when it came to her two best friends. Vaeda herself was slowed only by the fact that she had sat further in than Thalie.

"V!" Sky shouted as he broke from Thalie.

Vaeda threw her arms open. "You're so tall!" she cried. Sky, at eleven annuals, and Thalie, at ten, were both already taller than she was at thirteen. She sighed inwardly. Genetics were not on her side.

"No, you're just short," Sky teased her. Vaeda stuck her tongue out.

"Hello, Miss Vaeda," Jeb said, coming forward and giving his half-sister a squeeze.

"Hi, Jeb," she said. "Hi Madi!" The smiling, red-haired woman stepped up and hugged her as well.

"Dad!" Jeb called, waving to the people getting out of the car a few feet away. "Deeg!"

"Hey, son," Cain answered from the driveway, where he and Ahamo were helping Athaliea up the stairs. The two drivers were carrying her wheelchair up to the top, right where Vaeda stood.

"So what's going on?" Sky asked, grinning under his shaggy blonde hair. "How's Finaqua?"

"Much better since you haven't been around," Thalie mocked, poking him in the ribs.

He bent and twisted her around so that her arms were pinned to her sides, and looked up at Vaeda. "Wait'll you see some of the stuff they have set up here in the Embassy. And the Ozdust! The whole ballroom's been decorated for this thing," Sky told her. Thalie, meanwhile broke free and dashed behind Vaeda, hiding from Sky behind her skirt. "Nice dress," Sky added, smirking at the gown Vaeda wore.

Vaeda swatted him. "Shut it."

"Hey, you three," DG said, coming up behind her daughter. She kissed the top of her head. "Behave. V, go help your grandmother, please." Vaeda looked up at her. "Now, missy."

Vaeda went over to where Athaliea was sitting down and took her cane, sliding it into the sheath that Ambrose had designed on the seat's back. "Thank you, sweet girl," Athaliea said, smiling at her. Vaeda smiled back and turned to walk towards Thalie and Sky again, but Athaliea caught her wrist. "Come up to our room later, before the ball," she whispered. "I have a gift for you."

Vaeda looked at her questioningly for a moment, but Athaliea waved her hand, dismissing her to go to her friends. Vaeda smiled mischievously and turned away, catching Thalie's hand as she followed Sky into the Embassy.


	3. Quiet

Chapter Three

Vaeda gulped down her dinner at lightning speed to match her grandmother's delicate eating habits.

"Vaeda, you're going to choke," Ambrose teased from his end of the table. Vaeda grinned sheepishly and laid her fork down, slowing to chew her mouthful of chicken more carefully. Athaliea winked at her.

Before long, the stewards came into the dining room to clear away their plates, much to Vaeda's satisfaction. Everyone excused themselves to take a short rest or primp themselves for the coming celebration; Vaeda was certain her father was going to go to sleep in their room, and her mother was going to her aunt's room.

"Let's go up on the balcony and look at the city. Everything's all lit up gold and green," Sky said to Thalie and Vaeda as they stood in the hall.

"I can't," Vaeda said. "I need to—"

"Please, V?" Thalie begged.

"I have to take care of something," Vaeda told her.

"Well…just be quick and come meet us up there soon, okay?" Thalie asked. Vaeda nodded. She waved goodbye to Thalie and Sky at the top of the stairs. Once they were out of sight, Vaeda ran to her room. As predicted, her mother had left a note saying that she had gone to Azkadellia's rooms to get dressed.

"V, is that you?" her father's voice called sleepily from the room connected to hers by an open door. It never took him long to fall asleep, especially when he just had eaten.

"Yeah, Dad," Vaeda answered. "Just fixing my hair."

Wyatt Cain mumbled something indistinct and Vaeda smiled to herself. She ran in the bathroom quickly. She checked her hair automatically; the blonde coif was mercifully still in perfect condition.

Poking her head into her parents' bedroom where Cain was still stretched out in slumber, Vaeda quietly closed the door and left for her grandparents' chambers.

They were two floors up but Vaeda ignored the lift and hurried up the stairs, trying to remember which room was theirs. She recognised the hallway, though, and approached the heavy oaken door, excited. She knocked three times.

"Hi, Vaeda," Ahamo said, opening the door. "Come in. To what do we owe the pleasure?" he asked as she entered.

Vaeda slid one arm around his middle and he put his arm over her shoulders. "Grandma told me to come by."

"So I did," Athaliea said as Vaeda and Ahamo entered the sitting area of their rooms. After Azkadellia and Ambrose's apartments, Vaeda's parents and grandparents had some of the nicest rooms in the Embassy. Athaliea was sitting on a sofa with a book in her lap. It looked as though Ahamo had gotten up from sitting with her; an abandoned sketchbook lay on the seat next to Athaliea. "Ahamo, will you get me the silver jewellery box in the top of my trunk, please?"

Ahamo smiled and released Vaeda, who immediately hurried to snuggle up against her grandmother. She loved Athaliea's smell; it was like flowers, and the scent of Finaqua in late autumn.

"Where are your cousins?" Athaliea asked, putting her arm around Vaeda. Sky was more of a cousin to her than anything else; no one called him her nephew.

"On the balcony, upstairs. I'm supposed to go and find them later," Vaeda answered, sighing contentedly. "Before we leave. Sky says the whole city's glowing."

Athaliea laughed. "It should be a fun time tonight, don't you think?" she asked. Vaeda nodded. "Oh, thank you, darling," she said to Ahamo, who had returned with the jewellery box. Vaeda sat up as Ahamo made himself comfortable on one of the upholstered chairs and watched Athaliea open the box. "When your aunt turned thirteen, we gave her a necklace. Your mother would have gotten one as well, but that had to wait." Vaeda nodded. She knew her mother's whole story. "Well, you've just turned thirteen. It's time for you to have one," Athaliea told Vaeda, producing a silver chain, from which hung a silver reworking of the twister crest: the mark of the Grey Gale. Instead of the Ice Diamond that was set in her mother's familiar pendant, though, an opalescent Twilit Stone, the stone of her birth annual, glimmered in the eye of the storm.

"Oh, Grandma," Vaeda said softly, reaching for the necklace. "It's beautiful."

Athaliea dropped it in her hand. "Try it on," she said, nodding towards the mirror. Vaeda got up, followed by Ahamo, who secured it around her neck and laid his hands on her shoulders.

"Perfect," he told her, kissing her head. Vaeda's face was aglow as she turned to face her grandfather.

"Thank you," she said, hugging him. She turned to Athaliea. "Thank you, Grandma!" she said, flying back to the sofa.

"Oh, you're welcome, darling," Athaliea said, giving her a kiss. "Consider it a late birthday present."

Vaeda smiled, when someone knocked on the door. "Sir," a man's voice called. "The cars will be leaving in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, Anders," Ahamo called back to the guard.

"You go find Thalie and Sky, sweetheart. We'll be downstairs soon," Athaliea told Vaeda. The girl nodded and got up to go and find her friends.


	4. The Ball

Chapter Four

"I like all the swirls the dresses make when they spin," Thalie said drowsily, her face pressed forward between two railings of the upper staircase as she gazed down on the scene.

"You said that…a minute ago…Thalie," Vaeda yawned in an equally sleepy voice, nudging her cousin. Sky gave a loud snore from where he slept on the red carpeting. Vaeda giggled stupidly as Thalie dropped into her lap, exhausted. "Wait, Thalie. We have to stay awake for the fireworks."

"Just a minute," Thalie mumbled into Vaeda's skirt. "It's late."

The ball had been going on for hours. The three children had been on the dance floor and by the dessert tables for a long time, but had soon retreated to this secluded upper level, where they could peek out over the dancing, talking, laughing guests, all beautifully dressed and enjoying the celebration. At midnight, just half an hour away, the fireworks that Sky's mother had helped to design and co-ordinate would be launched. The evening had quickly turned into a valiant effort by the children to stay awake long enough to make it outside with all the party guests to see the display.

The clock in Central City Square, outside the Ozdust hotel and ballroom, began to chime the four quarters. The music on the floor beneath the children stopped and all the guests started to make their way into the gardens to see the fireworks show. Vaeda prodded Thalie, who woke up and stood, and the three of them followed the crowd, trying to find their parents.

At two in the morning, half-asleep on her mother's lap in the back of the car and buried under a snoring Sky and a partially smothered Thalie, Vaeda felt entirely at peace. All she could think about was the nice feeling of having DG gently stroking her hair, the silver necklace pressed between her fingers, and the warmth of her two best friends piled against her. True, they all had to get up again in just a few short hours to see Aunt Az give her Eclipse Day speech, but at that moment everything felt absolutely wonderful, and it was going to stay that way.


	5. The Attack

Chapter Five

The royal family walked out on to the balcony to an eruption of cheers and applause; Vaeda was always happy to hear it. Even though she had been told that before she was born, and even going on to present times, there existed some small sects of countryside dwellers who hated her aunt for what they perceived as her wrongs, she had never met anyone who disliked Azkadellia or Ambrose. Her parents told her it was because they had both become heroes (Azkadellia by proxy) of the Great Scourge, less than an annual before she was born. The medicine her uncle had produced, Ambrosia, was a mandatory vaccine for children in the Zone now.

Thalie squeezed Vaeda's hand and led her to their positions. Vaeda always stood with Thalie next to their grandmother. Behind them were Ambrose, Cain, DG, and Ahamo. Azkadellia faced her family and smiled, adjusting the crown very slightly. DG nodded at her encouragingly, and she turned to face the crowds.

"People of the Outer Zone, my friends," Az called into the sonorophone. She began the speech that she had been working on for months (Vaeda and Thalie had offered their help on several occasions to no avail). It was indeed long, to say the very least. The royals had nothing much to do but smile and stand about, waving when Azkadellia paused to let the crowd cheer.

Vaeda and Thalie, predictably, let their attentions wander; they had only recently discovered that the mental connections they each shared with their mothers could be pressed to reach each other, though often it sounded dim and distant, like a crackly telewire with no picture, and it didn't reach very far.

_Vaaaaaaaayda…_Thalie's voice poked into her mind, teasing her.

_Thallllleeeeee…_Vaeda imitated her.

_What do you think they'll serve for lunch?_

_Can't you ever think of anything besides your stomach?_

_No._

Vaeda had to put her hand over her mouth and fake a coughing fit to hide her laughter. Athaliea looked up in concern, but Vaeda shook her head, unable to conceal her grin. Her grandmother raised an eyebrow knowingly and smiled.

Azkadellia, in the throes of her speech, put her arms straight into the air above her, gesticulating dramatically. Vaeda watched her in silent admiration—CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Four powerful gunshots rang out over the square. Vaeda ducked instinctively, yanking Thalie down with her, and covered her head. She heard something heavy hit the ground in front of her. In the square below, she heard screams and yells, the sounds of thousands of feet running. More shots were being fired, adding to the deafening roar. Vaeda heard Jeb shouting his orders to the guards with him, mingling with the shouts of her family—her grip on Thalie's hand was yanked away—

"No! Thalie!"

"Vaeda!"

Without thinking, Vaeda jumped to her feet, ready to fight whatever it was that had separated her from Thalie—and what she saw terrified her.

Men in black coats were rappelling down the side of the Embassy roof. Jeb's guards were firing at them, hitting some too, but when she looked over to Thalie, she saw her cousin struggling in a black-coated man's burly arms. No one seemed to notice that Vaeda and Thalie were alone.

DG was fending off her own attacker, as were Cain and Ahamo. Athaliea was on the ground, unconscious. A bloodied Ambrose was crawling towards Azkadellia, who lay behind the podium where she had fallen, blood pouring from her side. Realising she was on her own and drawing on all the power she could find, Vaeda started toward her cousin's attacker.

She threw up a jet of white light from her palm and fired straight into the man's furious face. He winced and dropped Thalie, who shouted in pain as she landed on the hard marble floor. Without pausing, Vaeda continued forward, shooting magic angrily at the man as he backed away. Finally he was knocked unconscious against the wall.

Satisfied, Vaeda started to turn again, but was caught around her middle by another vice-like pair of arms. The wind was knocked out of her but she managed to kick her attacker, bucking back into him. He dropped her and she landed hard on her knees—both of which felt as though they had been split open—but just the same, she forced herself to get back to her feet.

"Get _away_ from her!" she screamed as the man started to advance towards Thalie, still immobilised on the ground. Vaeda fired a poorly aimed spell at the man. He turned back to her, leering at her with icy blue eyes.

"Wrong move, little witch," he hissed, pure venom in his voice as he surveyed her. Smirking at her, he did the unspeakable and kicked her hard in the ribs. Vaeda screamed as she was pitched backwards, colliding painfully with the balcony's railing. Her head snapped back, knocking her unconscious. The last she heard were Thalie's screams for help and her family's yells before all went black.

* * *

You'll get two chapters today because I love you and I felt bad at how short Chapter 4 was.

Now...Guesses, anybody? I welcome an attempt to recognise our new friend. :)

F


	6. Brooding

Chapter Six

Vaeda was aware of the softness of the grass she lay in, the light of the suns on her face, reflecting off of Finaqua's surface. She turned her head to the side, opening her eyes and expecting to see Thalie—a bright room swam into focus.

"Vaeda, sweetheart," Cain said hoarsely, sitting up. "Deeg, she's awake." He took Vaeda's hand. Her mother came flying over to the bedside, taking Vaeda into her arms.

"Oh, baby," she said tearfully. "Are you all right?"

Vaeda nodded dazedly. Her chest gave a painful throb along her breastbone as her mother released her. "Where—?"

"We're in Memorial Hospital," DG cut her off. Now that Vaeda looked more closely at her mother, she saw that DG was a bit worse for the wear, as was Cain. DG had a deep cut above her eyebrow and a bandaged hand. Cain had a black eye and stitches in his lip.

Vaeda started to look around. Reclining in a neighbouring bed, and only half-awake, she saw her grandmother, talking quietly with a bruised Ahamo. Then she looked down the other way and saw a set of screens drawn around a bed that was surrounded with several white machines and the outline of a curly-headed man sitting beside it. Vaeda felt the bottom of her stomach drop. It was Azkadellia, clearly. Thalie must be there, too.

"Don't panic, sweetie," DG said, seeing where Vaeda was looking. "She's awake. She's going to be fine."

"I want to see her. I can get up, can't I?" Vaeda asked, ignoring the pain in her chest as she sat up.

"Vaeda, Thalie—"

"She's over there, you just said," Vaeda said, pushing back the covers.

"No, sweetie," DG said gently, her chin starting to tremble as she touched Vaeda's arm. Vaeda sat back again, fearful. "Thalie…Thalie got—" she broke off, taking a breath to try and steady herself "—Thalie was kidnapped."

The blood rushed out of Vaeda's head, making her feel dizzy and faint. A deafening noise started filling her ears. She thought she was going to be sick.

"V?" Cain asked bracingly, squeezing his daughter's upper arm. "Take a breath."

Vaeda sucked in a sharp lungful of cold air—it seared her throat and her eyes watered. She started to shake her head in protest at the increased pain from her throbbing chest—she pressed a hand to her breastbone, but suddenly, the roaring in her ears stopped, as did everything else.

* * *

Vaeda sat motionless on the window seat of her bedroom, glaring out at the sunshiny streets of Central City, hunched over with her arms crossed over knees. She was in her most boyish clothes; no one had tried to make her change from the leggings and shirt she had returned from the hospital in. Her hair was disheveled and she hadn't eaten or spoken to anyone since her release two days previously. She had simply taken the now-neglected bottle of pain medicine for her bruised ribs from her mother and locked herself in her room.

Since then, she had grown accustomed to the silence; her parents, her uncle, Jeb, and Madigan were all meeting in secret conferences, trying to figure out their next movements.

Without Azkadellia, Ambrose was the next in line to take command, reluctant though he may have been to leave his wife, and he therefore had to direct the plans and uncover all leads. Vaeda, however, had no way of knowing what they knew, though she desperately wanted to.

Instead, Vaeda had relegated herself to her bedroom. Sleep had come, fitfully. She kept replaying the last moments she had seen of her cousin, being dropped from the black-coated man's arms, the screams for help that Vaeda hadn't answered, for the very first time…a soft knock on the door interrupted her reverie.

"Vaeda?" a gentle voice called out. Vaeda stuck her head up and stared at the door in surprise. Her grandmother must have just come home from the hospital; they had kept her for a few more days. Azkadellia was still there. Vaeda had not seen her, nor did she want to face her or Ambrose.

"Vaeda, it's Grandma," Athaliea called gently. "Open the door, sweetheart."

Vaeda hesitated for a moment. Did she want to see anyone? Making her decision, she got up and flicked the lock to the left, opening the door inelegantly and turning on her heel to flop face-forward on the bed. She instantly regretted it as her chest gave a painful twinge. Still, Vaeda did not move or look up as she heard the sounds of Athaliea limping across the threshold.

She was surprised, however, to feel a weight sink onto the mattress next to her. She poked her face up over her arms. Athaliea was directing a servant, who was laying out a silver tray full of food—set for two. "Grandma," Vaeda began as the servant left and shut the door.

Athaliea lowered herself with some difficulty near the headboard. "You need to eat, sweet girl," she said, barely disguising the break in her voice. Mom must have told her, Vaeda thought to herself. At that moment, most unhelpfully, Vaeda's stomach growled. So, she sat up—cross-legged, which normally her grandmother would have corrected—on her bed and accepted one of the sandwiches Athaliea gave her.

They sat in silence for a long while, Vaeda watching her grandmother with a slightly wary gaze, Athaliea simply eating her lunch—though her eyes looked weary, and desperately sad. She said nothing, knowing that Vaeda would talk eventually.


	7. Revelation

Chapter Seven

Two hours later, Athaliea lay back against the headboard of Vaeda's bed with the girl cuddled up next to her.

"Why did they take her?" Vaeda whispered yet again, eyes full of tears. "Why didn't he take me?"

"He?" Athaliea asked. Vaeda hadn't mentioned a 'he.' "He who, Vaeda?"

"The man that kicked me," Vaeda said softly. "He must have taken her."

"Vaeda, you saw someone who was there?" Athaliea asked. Vaeda nodded. She could never forget that horrible man's sharp face, his cold eyes.

"He had…blonde hair," she said slowly. "But it was sort of…greying. And his eyes were blue. They were like ice," Vaeda shuddered, still not understanding the magnitude of what she was saying.

"Vaeda, are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?" Athaliea asked sharply, causing Vaeda to sit up. She nodded, wiping under her eyes.

"He went for her, and I attacked him, sort of," Vaeda said. "But I missed, and he turned around and kicked me."

Athaliea rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. "Have you told anyone this?" Vaeda shook her head. Athaliea started to sit up. "We need to find your uncle. And your brother," she said. Vaeda, confused, got up and helped her grandmother stand, giving her a shoulder to lean on.

The two of them got out into the hallway. The Embassy was eerily silent. Sunlight filtered through the windows of the thickly carpeted hallway, illuminating the dark wood paneling, but everything felt cold. "This way," Athaliea said, nudging Vaeda forward. "The conference room is down that hall."

Vaeda started forward, past the wide staircase and continuing down the hall. At the door, however, she stopped, staring worriedly. She glanced behind her, at Athaliea. Her grandmother put a hand on her shoulder and nodded. Vaeda raised her hand and knocked three times. The dull murmur of voices ceased.

"Come in," Jeb's voice called.

Vaeda took a deep breath. She wished she had never said anything; she didn't want to leave her room. Nonetheless, she put her hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. The door opened, revealing a large varnished wood conference table, around which were gathered her parents, her uncle, her grandfather, Jeb, Madigan, and four security guards. Vaeda stood awkwardly in the doorway for a moment, twisting her fingers as they all watched her. She felt her grandmother prod her forward.

"Vaeda has something that she'd like to add," Athaliea said, following Vaeda into the room. Ahamo pulled out chairs for both of them, but Athaliea was the first to sit. Vaeda suddenly felt nervous. Her mouth went dry, and she had to force herself to move another step. "Sit down, Vaeda," Athaliea told her calmly. Vaeda obeyed.

"What is it?" Jeb asked her, trying to be kind.

"I can tell you what—what the man who attacked me looked like," Vaeda said quietly. She could immediately tell that this was not making an impression. "Because…I think he's the one who took Thalie."

This statement produced an immediate effect. DG's eyes widened in surprise, Cain looked as though he had never seen his daughter properly before. Ambrose's face remained even, inscrutable, but his knuckles whitened on the fist he held on the tabletop.

"All right, Vaeda," Jeb said calmly. "Tell us what you know."

"Tell me what you know," Vaeda said suddenly, her voice much stronger than before. She hadn't meant for it to sound so demanding and petulant, but she found that now she had come out of her shell, she had to know what was going on. "I mean, please."

Jeb raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Fair enough," he said.

"What?" DG asked suddenly. "Jeb, no."

"She has as much right to know what's going on as Sky does," Jeb said, nodding to the corner behind Vaeda. She turned and saw, to her surprise, Sky; she had not seen him since the attack. He sported a large bruise across the right side of his jaw but otherwise looked unscathed. Instantly Vaeda felt guilty. She had not spared him a thought in the last days. Now, though, he grinned at her. "What do you want to know, Vaeda?" Jeb asked her, bringing her back.

Vaeda took a deep breath and sat down. "Who were those men? Why did they attack us, and why did they kidnap Thalie? Where is she?" she said quickly, ending on a slightly hysterical note.

Jeb nodded. "The men that were on the balcony are called longcoats—well, they were at one point, before you were born. They, uh," Jeb paused, looking over at Ambrose; he did not appear to be listening but was focused on a crack in the table's surface, tracing it with his fingertip. "They were the Sorceress' private army, when she—inhabited—Azkadellia."

Vaeda made a face. She never liked the fact that people once thought that her aunt was the cruel Witch; it always seemed so impossible to Vaeda.

"Well, when the Witch fell, and your aunt was freed, most of the longcoats were arrested. A lot of them are still in jail," Jeb said, a satisfied gleam in his eye. "There were a handful, though," he continued bitterly, "that escaped prison and headed for places like Quox, Ix, or Fliaan." At this, Cain sat forward, making a noise angrily in his throat. DG put a hand on his arm.

"What?" Vaeda asked, looking between her parents.

"One of them was a guy named Zero," Cain said gruffly, his eyes cold. "Thought we had him cornered, too. But he got out of the Zone before we could get him." Not entirely sure why this mattered, Vaeda looked at her mother.

DG shook her head. "Later."

Jeb, too, looked angry at the mention of Zero's name. "Anyway," he continued, "the men that attacked were a reorganised front of longcoats. They attacked us and kidnapped Thalie because they needed to make a statement. They want to scare us, or at least remind us that they're still at large. We know from one of our captives that their base is in Ix, but we don't know who the leader is, or what their next steps will be. Does that help?" he asked. Vaeda nodded slowly. "All right then. Tell us what you know." Jeb leaned forward and folded his arms on the table.

Vaeda complied, giving every detail of the assault from her point of view. When she started to describe the man who had hit her, though, she was caught totally by surprise.

"What?" Cain snapped, standing up. Vaeda was cut short, merely staring at him in apprehension. She looked around for an explanation, but her mother was biting her lip, and Jeb's face had become etched with lines of cold fury as he glared at the table in front of him.

"Vaeda," Cain said, trying to calm himself. "Are you _sure_? Are you absolutely sure?" Vaeda nodded meekly. Jeb began slowly, methodically leafing through the stack of folders on his right, pulling one loose and approaching Vaeda with it.

"Is this the man, Vaeda?"

Vaeda leaned forward to look at the pages in front of her. One side was a warrant, signed by her father, and the other was a list of personal information, topped with a picture of a sneering man. It looked as though it had been clipped from a newspaper or a flier. She felt a sudden shiver as she looked into the man's newsprint eyes. She knew that if the picture was in colour, the eyes would be blue, and the slicked hair would be blonde. _Wrong move, little witch…_Vaeda could still hear the malice in his voice. She looked carefully up at Jeb, who watched her intently. She nodded.

"Yes. This picture looks old, but that's definitely him," Vaeda told him.

Jeb's face reddened and he slapped the folder shut, rubbing his face. Cain, who was still standing, reached for the file. As he looked at it, his features hardened. Vaeda was a little bit frightened; he didn't look like her father. Cain made a noise of contempt and cast it down on the table in front of his wife, whose lip curled as she looked at the picture.

Vaeda, still confused but becoming increasingly annoyed as she watched the file be passed around the table, demanded, "I don't understand. Who is he?"

"That," Jeb spat, "is Zero."


	8. Mission

Chapter Eight

"If that bastard is back in the Zone, and he's back to threaten my family, I'd say I'm entitled to a little time to yell about it!" Cain said. His voice was muffled, partially by the door that divided the sitting room from Vaeda's bedroom, and partially because Vaeda's left ear was pressed into the pillow. The slam of the door had woken her up. Now she was trying to get her bearings. Intrigued, she sat up and looked at the clock. It was after midnight. She had left the conference room ages ago; were her parents just coming in?

"Yes, but _Vaeda_," DG warned him. Hearing her approaching footsteps, Vaeda dropped onto the pillow again, pretending to sleep. She heard the door open and remained totally still until the yellow light that spilled in the room vanished before getting up again. This time, she got out of bed and crept to the door, crouching and pressing her ear to the crack. She heard the sounds of her father dropping onto the sofa and exhaling loudly.

"You know, even though we never got the chance to arrest him, I really did think we'd heard the last," Cain said with an audible sigh. "After all that, he still got to us. I mean, what if he'd taken Vaeda? He could easily have done that. Why leave her and go for Thalie? She's my kid. It'd fit in with his twisted personality, and from the sound of it, he knew who Vaeda was. What if he'd gotten her?" Vaeda felt the bottom of her stomach fall away.

"You're forgetting," DG told him. "Thalie is Az's daughter. Looks just like her. Vaeda would have been a gamble. If this is just a ransom thing he's trying to work—"

"Deeg, you know it's not just about a ransom anymore. The fact that it was Zero heading the attack changes everything. There's something personal behind it."

"Then it still makes sense that he would go for Azkadellia and Thalie. When the Witch was defeated, Zero lost everything. I wouldn't exactly put a fifteen-annual grudge past him," DG said. "Besides, maybe we're wrong, maybe he didn't realise who Vaeda was until he got here and that's why he didn't take her. We're just lucky he obviously didn't have time to get to you or Jeb."

At this highly inopportune moment of silence, Vaeda lost her battle against a threatening sneeze. She lost her balance in her crouch, bumping into her dresser and making a huge noise as coins, a jewellery box, and a book fell from the top.

DG stifled a laugh and got up to open the door. Vaeda grinned up at her sheepishly. "Hey," she said.

DG raised her eyebrows. "All right," she said in a resigned voice. "Come out here." Vaeda got to her feet and followed her mother to the sofa.

"Sweetheart, do you understand what we're talking about?" DG asked, sitting down.

"I gave you some information," Vaeda said warily, "but I don't know what the big deal is. Longcoats are longcoats, what does this Zero guy have to do with it?"

"Zero isn't just a regular longcoat, V," Cain told her. "He's a very dangerous man." He watched her for a moment, wondering. "We've never told you this part of our story, but I think it's time that you heard it."

Vaeda turned to look at him, eyes full of amethyst concern. Cain took a deep breath with his eyes closed. "When—Jeb's mother was still alive, and Jeb was very small, I was a Tin Man."

"Like the guards here?" Vaeda asked.

"Yes, but I didn't work in the Embassy. I did private security," Cain said. "But that's not important. In those days, the Witch was just coming to power. You remember how Jeb met Madigan when they belonged to the Resistance? Well, at that time, I did too. Zero was one of the first Tin Men to defect—join the Witch. He knew me. Not very well, we'd met one or two times but just the same, he knew who I was. Well, before he actually changed sides, he played spy for A—the Sorceress. I knew we were in danger the second I found out he had joined her, but before I could find a safe place to take Jeb and Adora, he found us out. He knew I worked for the Resistance, and he came to our house. He—captured Jeb and his mother, and he locked me in the Suit."

"The Suit?" Vaeda asked in horror. "You were in an Iron Suit?" No one had ever told her this.

Cain's eyes were closed. "Yeah," he said in a dry voice. "I was in there for…about eight annuals. Then, along came this lost kid," his voice had become sort of reminiscent and dreamy. "She had a zipperhead with her. You know the rest of our story," Cain told her, squeezing DG's hand. "How I found Jeb again…and how I learned that Adora was dead. I also found out that Zero hadn't stopped punishing my family. He…" Cain trailed off, looking morose. "He was the one who killed Adora."

Vaeda looked horrified, her mouth hanging open. "Oh, Dad," she said softly.

Cain cleared his throat. "Things have worked out all right," he told her, giving her a hug. "But last week…that was just a reminder of the old days. If Zero is back and he's trying to hurt you, or your mother, or anyone else we care about, he needs to be stopped. Still, at the same time we need to treat the situation ten times more carefully if he really is behind it. He's much more of a threat than a handful of longcoat recruits we were able to capture."

"Then how do we get Thalie back?" Vaeda asked, her eyes filling with tears.

"That's what we're working on. One of the prisoners has told us where the base is. Now we know who the leader is. You were a big help, but we need to make our next moves slowly. Jeb knows how to organise his men and we're going to act as quickly as possible," Cain said. Vaeda leaned forward, arms folded. Her head was swimming with all of this information.

"Vaeda?" DG asked, rubbing her back.

Vaeda sat up again. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" she asked. It was not accusatory, or demanding, simply curious.

Her mother looked at her for a long moment, contemplating her answer. "We didn't think that it would be part of our lives again," she said truthfully.

* * *

At four in the morning, Vaeda snapped awake. All the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place. Zero had Thalie, because Zero hated the Gales and hated the Cains. Zero wanted revenge on them all and he would stop at nothing to get it, beginning with trying to kill Az and destroy the crown. She saw flashes of what he had already done; all of her family's injuries played in front of her. Vaeda knew then what she had to do, even if it meant breaking every last shard of her world that survived.


	9. Stowaways

Chapter Nine

Sky almost had a heart attack when he was seized from behind as he passed one of the marble columns in the foyer of the Embassy. Vaeda clapped a hand over his mouth, gesturing for him to be silent with her other hand. He nodded slowly, eyes wide. She lowered her hand slowly.

"What are you wearing?" Sky asked. Vaeda looked down. She had on leggings and an old shirt that could have belonged to Cain at one point, judging from its size. She wore one of her father's belts as well. "Or am I about to find out why you weren't at dinner?"

"Shh," Vaeda warned. "Look, are the convoys still leaving tonight?"

"What? Oh, yeah," Sky said. Vaeda bit her lip, nodding in a satisfied way as she stepped back and produced a leather cord from her pocket. She tied her long hair as Sky watched her warily. "What are you going to do, Vaeda?" he asked.

"I'm getting on one of those transports," she told him, "and I'm going to Ix with the soldiers. Once I'm there, even if your dad finds me, he's not going to attract attention to himself by getting someone to take me back. I need to find Zero, and rescue Thalie."

Sky watched her in some awe. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I need you to stall my parents," Vaeda said. "Give me enough time to get far enough away that they can't stop the wagons."

Sky rubbed his chin for a moment. "That's not going to work, V," he told her.

She snapped her head up from where she was re-lacing her boot. "Of course it will," she said irritably. "Why wouldn't it?"

"Because I'm going to come too," he answered with a slight grin.

"No," Vaeda said as she straightened, looking fiercely into his eyes. "You're not."

"Yes," Sky replied, stepping up so that he exercised his full height against hers, "I am." Vaeda glared up at him. "Vaeda, you're going to need as much protection as you can get. Besides, this way when we come back, at least we'll be punished together."

"Sky," Vaeda said slowly, "this is a lot bigger than a punishment. This guy is dangerous." _I sound like Dad_, she thought.

"And I can hold my own in a fight. You have magic, I have battle training."

"Battle training," Vaeda scoffed. "Your dad teaching you how to fence?"

"Doesn't matter," Sky said in an offhand voice. Vaeda raised her eyebrows. "We both want Thalie back, Vaeda," he said seriously. "Let me help you."

Vaeda crossed her arms, watching Sky steadily. "All right," she said at last. "Go get ready, but be back here in ten minutes. The convoys leave in an hour and we need to be on them before anyone else."

Sky made a jubilant gesture with his fist, then ran up the stairs taking them three at a time. Vaeda crouched behind her column, trying to keep her mind on what she was about to do.

* * *

Vaeda and Sky found that they fit comfortably enough into a divided section of the supply hold of the wagon. They had had to be very careful while the weapons were loaded into the truck's underside but now, a decent ways into their journey, they were completely unnoticed. It was eleven o'clock at night when they had left Central City; they had no way of knowing where exactly they were, but they were heading northeast along the Brick Route. The rising suns' pinkish light glimmered through a warped piece of siding in their hiding spot. If they looked directly up, Vaeda and Sky had could see through a crack in the floor of the wagon above them, and hear the voices as they drifted through.

They dozed from time to time, waiting for Jeb to brief the men, but they had no such luck. By midday, they had stopped somewhere in the forest that lined the Zone's border with Ix. They would not try to cross in daylight, especially with the threat of longcoats. When night had fallen again, Vaeda and Sky awoke to the rumble of the wagons beginning to move again, but this time over rougher terrain. They had abandoned the road, instead opting for the secluded corner of the Ixian border that was unlikely to be guarded because it was so densely embedded in the forest. The wagon started to slow. Vaeda nudged Sky.

"Sky," she whispered in his ear. "Sky."

He slowly opened his eyes. "What?" he asked quietly.

"Why are we stopping?"

Sky got up on his knees carefully, peering out from the crack in the siding. "We must have crossed the border—yeah, listen," he whispered pointing above their heads.

"We'll set up base here," Jeb's voice was saying. "I need five men unloading supplies, four securing the perimeter—two spans in all directions, and the rest helping to get everything in place here. In one hour we'll reorganise and discuss the plan of attack. Go," he said. There was a sudden scraping of boots and a dull murmur of men's voices as they stood. Vaeda pulled Sky back from the side of the wagon as the opposite door was flung open and soldiers started pulling out the weapons and other provisions stored in the hold.

* * *

I was feeling a little down, and I love hearing from you all, so as a special treat, and extra chapter. Even if it is almost completely selfishly motivated.

Love,

Fae


	10. Ambush

Chapter Ten

"We have reason to believe that their resources are coming from this town, Voe," Jeb told his men as they gathered around the fire. Vaeda and Sky, who had still not left their hiding place, could just hear his voice and feel the warm gusts if the right wind blew. "If we cut off the valley where the town is, we should be able to lure the longcoats from the hills. Tomorrow, at dawn, Commander Jenk's men move to the northern gate, my men to the southern, and Commander Alphard's men split between east and west. Standard blockade procedure. Commander Vail's men will infiltrate the city and try to determine where the supply line's root is. If we know the start, we can find the end."

Vaeda shivered and huddled closer to Sky for warmth. The hold of the truck was freezing cold. Suddenly, and unbidden, she thought of her parents and her grandparents. She pictured her grandmother's face when they all realised that she and Sky were missing. Her father was probably going to come charging onto the scene, guns blazing.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Sky said, "We don't have to worry. We're with my dad." Vaeda nodded once. Slowly, the two fell asleep, cramped in their tiny corner, huddled against each other to keep warm.

* * *

Wyatt Cain slammed his fist on the table in frustration. DG didn't react, but sat with the heels of her palms pressed into her eyelids. Madigan ran her hand in circles over her friend's back, staring at a spot on the table.

"Isn't anybody going to say anything?" Cain said loudly, increasingly irritated with the lingering silence.

"Say what?" Ambrose asked gloomily.

"How in the hell are we going to get them back?" Cain demanded.

His wife's lips twisted into a miserable half-smile as she lowered her hands. "Please, Wyatt. She's your daughter. She knows what we're saying and doing right now. We can't reach Jeb without betraying his position, we can't chase after them, and she knows it. She thinks just like you," DG remarked.

Cain sat down roughly, his hands clenched. He swore again. The four in the room had been sitting for half an hour after discovering that their children were missing from their beds. Madigan hadn't spoken once. Cain had not been quite as reticent.

Now the early morning light shone down cheerily on them all without shuddering at the icy chill emanating from the Tin Man.

"I have to talk to Mother and Father," DG said wearily, rising. Her eyes were hollowed. "They shouldn't hear this from the wait-staff. Glitch, do you want me to come to the hospital with you?"

The consort looked up into her face, taking several moments to register what she had said. "Oh—yes, maybe that would be best…she won't take this well…" and he looked away again, deep in thought. Azkadellia was in a more stable condition at Memorial Hospital and now insisted upon being briefed on the plans despite not being well enough to come home. Technically, she had the power to put a stop to anything she wished now that she was on the mend, but the Queen had allowed all decisions made to remain in effect.

"All right, then. I'll be ready in an hour." Ambrose didn't respond. "All right?" DG asked.

Suddenly, he sat bolt upright, eyes wide with sudden understanding. "Raw," he said quietly.

Cain looked up. "What?"

"Raw. The Viewers…they're all in the northeast there! We can send Raw a message. He can find Vaeda, I'm sure. All he has to do is look for someone who feels like DG. And thinks like you," he added wryly, with a ghost of his former smile.

DG felt hope explode in the bottom of her stomach. Raw could help; he had even met Vaeda once, a long time ago. Surely he could find her.

"All right then," Madi said, standing as well. "Deeg, you go talk to your parents, Ambrose and I will get a message for Raw. If all goes well, we can coordinate an 'accidental' meeting between the Viewers and a routine border check in Ix," she continued, using the cover for the OZian soldiers dispatched with Jeb.

DG nodded, then looked at her husband. "Will you come with me?" she asked quietly, holding out her hand like a child. Suddenly, facing her parents seemed horribly daunting. Cain stood and took her in his arms, kissing the top of her head. The two left arm in arm, strained but still confident. They would have Vaeda back in no time.

* * *

A horse screamed loudly, causing Vaeda to start awake. Gunfire sounded all around them and the wagon quaked ominously. Sky jolted upright next to her, looking at her with fearful eyes. She pressed a finger to her lips and knelt forward to peer between the cracks of the siding, just visible in the weak morning light.

Jeb's men were firing into the trees, some looking only half-awake. It was an ambush. With the sound of thundering hooves, vicious-looking men rode into the clearing, shooting at the OZian soldiers. They were jypzies, Ixian highwaymen. Not as dangerous as longcoats but just as violent. Vaeda jumped back, seizing Sky by the collar.

"We have to run!" she shouted, barely audible above the chaotic din outside. They crawled across the low weapon hold and threw open the wide hatch door on the other side.

After glancing outside for just a moment to judge the distance to the trees, Vaeda and Sky leapt from their hiding space. They ducked down. No one appeared to be fighting on this side of the trucks. The jypzies were closing in around Jeb's men.

"Now," Vaeda whispered urgently. She and Sky broke into a run, heading for the break in the trees before them. As they reached the covering of the greenery, four men on horseback rode out of the darkness. One jypzy saw Vaeda and opened his mouth to yell, but suddenly was tossed from his horse as a bullet caught him. He landed hard and lay motionless.

Someone behind them shouted loudly.

"Come on, Vaeda, quickly!" Sky seized her by the collar and started running for the trees. This time they made it all the way and threw themselves into the underbrush. Terrified to move again, to speak, to do anything, the two lay there trembling as the sounds of the fight surrounded them. More horses were screaming, pistols were firing, and yells echoed around the clearing.

After what felt like an eternity the sounds died away, until the last pounding hoof-beats faded into the distance.

Slowly, Vaeda got to her knees. She peered back over the bush, looking at the scene they had just escaped. Three soldiers were beating the canvas top of the wagon that Vaeda and Sky had been hiding in. It looked as though the embers of the fire had ignited it when it overturned.

Sky joined Vaeda, scanning the area for his father. Suddenly, both of them felt a heavy hand descend on their shoulders, holding them frozen with fear.


	11. The Viewers

Chapter Eleven

Slowly, Vaeda and Sky turned at the same time. A fierce-looking man looked down on them, a hard expression in his eyes. However, Vaeda breathed a sigh of relief. On the man's leather coat was pinned a metallic twister symbol.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Sky. Sky spent a lot of time with his father's commanders; perhaps this was one of them. Now, though, the boy was speechless. The soldier shook his head and lifted the two children to their feet, marching them forward. Vaeda hung her head as she walked. This was far from what she had planned. She hadn't even gotten close to the city. Now Jeb was going to send them back and she would have to endure her family's censure.

"Sir," the man who now held them said. Jeb, who was helping lift a wounded man onto the medical table that had been swiftly erected, turned. His face changed so quickly it could have been hilarious in any other situation.

"What," he said in a low, angry voice, "do you think you are doing?" He looked back and forth between Vaeda and Sky, neither of whom spoke. "Well?" Jeb demanded a little more loudly. "How did you get here?"

"We...we hid in the cargo hold." Vaeda could not bring herself to look into his eyes.

"Sky? You know better than this. You could have been killed," Jeb told them. His eyes were cold.

This irritated Vaeda, Sky had not made the decision, she had. "We want to help you. We're going to help you," she amended.

"No, Vaeda, you're not. Especially not after this morning. You're going home."

As Vaeda opened her mouth to argue, another soldier ran into the clearing. "Sir! A clan of Viewers is asking for entry to the perimeter!"

"Viewers?" Jeb frowned to himself. "All right," he said warily. "Bring them here. You two," he said, addressing Vaeda and Sky. "Go and sit in my tent until I can figure out how to get you home. No, Vaeda," he said sharply. "Go."

The two reached the tent and went inside. Sky sat down, looking ashamed. Vaeda, however remained standing, pacing back and forth.

"Raw?" They suddenly heard Jeb's voice ring out over the other sounds in the clearing. Carefully, Vaeda peeked out of the tent flap. A Viewer, apparently the leader, his brown hair touched lightly with grey, was greeting Jeb like an old friend. He then engaged Jeb in a conversation, hushed and hurried. Vaeda looked at the other Viewers. There were fourteen, she counted quickly. A younger one was hovering closer to the leader. The others were starting to disperse themselves among the wounded, using their healing gifts on the injured soldiers.

At that moment, Jeb and the Viewer looked at the tent. Vaeda yanked her head back in. Certain they were coming this way, she sat down. Sure enough, Jeb's head appeared in the flap.

"Come out here, you two."

Slowly, Sky and Vaeda got to their feet. Outside, the older Viewer watched them.

"Vaeda, Sky, this is Raw. Raw helped to defeat the Witch," Jeb told them. "Vaeda, you met him once, when you were very small."

Raw put out a hand, which Vaeda took. "Still Tin Man's daughter," he said with a smile. "Same heart, but has much DG in her." Vaeda pulled away. She wasn't sure she wanted Raw to read everything, though judging by his expression, he already had.

"Your mother," Jeb continued to his son, "sent Raw a message when she discovered you were missing. He's come to take you home. You'll hide with the Viewers while they go on to Central City."

Vaeda started again to argue but Jeb cut across her. "Vaeda, the situation is much more dangerous now that those jypzies are going to return to longcoat territory, and probably tell them we're here. We need to leave this place quickly and get into Voe more than ever."

"Come," said the younger Viewer, who had followed Jeb and Raw.

"Kalm, help family," Raw told him. Kalm nodded once, and strode to help the other Viewers, all working to heal the men. "No place for Vaeda here," he said kindly, turning to Vaeda. "Family worried. Family want Vaeda back. Mother wants Sky," he told the boy. Then, drawing on the feelings he had read in Vaeda, "Cousin alive. Will come home safe."

"You don't know that," Vaeda said quietly, watching the ground blur behind hot tears.

"Trust Raw. Time to go home."

* * *

"Az, honey, this really isn't a good--" Ambrose's voice was cut short as Azkadellia sat up and gingerly put her legs over the side of the bed, holding DG's arm.

"I can't be lying here doing nothing," she said firmly. Carefully she got to her feet, wincing. The bullets that had torn apart her right side had left shattered ribs and a huge wound. DG was rather impressed that her sister was even standing. She had seen Azkadellia before any healers had been able to reach her.

"Your Majesty," Azkadellia's private nurse, Ava, came bustling over. "Please, lie down, this—"

Azkadellia interrupted her. "Please find the Healer. I need to return to the Embassy. I would not ask if it were not absolutely necessary." Ava looked at her for a moment and decided it was not worth the fight. She hurried away to find the healer in charge of the ward.

"Will you hand me my robe, please?" Az asked her husband. Ambrose picked it up and came close to her, folding it gently around her shoulders.

"Az," he said, guiding her to the chair DG had abandoned. "You can't do this yet. It's not good for you."

"I'll be fine," she told him, one hand on his face. "I have to be there to help. We need to get them all back. I can't stand getting my information secondhand."

"But Az," DG said, trying to inject some reasonability into the conversation, "Raw is going to bring back Vaeda and Sky, and Jeb will bring Thalie home."

"No, DG," Azkadellia said fiercely. "You can't ask me to stay out of the situation. I'm going to come to the Embassy and I'm going to do everything I can to bring them home."


	12. Decisions

Chapter Twelve

"What do you think they're doing?" Sky asked. "At home, I mean?"

"Probably worrying about us," Vaeda said tonelessly. She hated it when people fretted for her. Especially when there were far more pressing issues.

They had been walking with the Viewers for ages. The suns were setting. Apparently, the clan had a camp set up not far from where they currently were. Vaeda kept replaying the day's events in her mind. _No place for Vaeda here_...

That was just the trouble. That was always the trouble. Never was there a place for Vaeda. It was a thought that she had dwelled upon more and more in the last week. She did not begrudge Thalie the title of Crown Princess, of course, but the fact of the matter was that Vaeda had never found herself to be extraordinary in any way. Even her magic was of a very basic level, despite her lineage.

This had been her attempt to prove she was something more than a cousin of the Royal Family. She had always admired Madigan for her bravery. Vaeda wanted to prove to herself that she could fight like that. Now her chance was gone.

"Here," Kalm said, pointing to a tiny dirt path that led off the Brick Route, which they had travelled on since they had left the forest. They could just see, at the very end of the trail, the glow of campfires.

"Come on, V," Sky said. "Thalie's going to be all right. Let's have something to eat." Vaeda nodded silently, and followed her friend to the light.

That night, as Vaeda lay on her mat gazing up at the stars, she thought about her situation. More than rescuing her best friend, she had to prove to herself that she could be just a remarkable as every Gale woman ever had been. Her mother and grandmother were both considered great heroes of the Zone. Her aunt was the Queen, beloved by--well, nearly all. Thalie was the Crown Princess and was, if possible, even more loved than Azkadellia.

In the chain of women around her, Vaeda felt increasingly that she was the weak link. She sat up. This had to change. She would make her own way.

"Take your life into your hands, and don't let go for an instant," her father had always said.

Quietly, Vaeda got to her feet and silently pulled on her boots. She slid her leather string bracelet from her wrist, and laid it next to Sky's head where he slept. Checking her surroundings, she crouched low and stole around the back of the tents of sleeping Viewers, heading in the direction of the Brick Route.

Vaeda was going to save Thalie without anyone's help.

* * *

Azkadellia, after much argument, was allowed to return to the Embassy under Ava's charge and on the condition that she remain seated or lying down as much as possible.

Naturally, Az tried as hard as she could to avoid these rules but Athaliea's insistence, coupled with her own fatigue and Ava's hovering remonstrances, finally won over. Nonetheless, she was grateful to be back with her husband and sister, and was waiting on Ambrose's arm the next morning to welcome the Viewers to the Embassy.

In the reception hall, Madi, DG, Ambrose, Cain, and Azkadellia stood in a line as Raw, followed by two Viewers, filed in. It had been ages since the four friends had been together and despite the gloomy atmosphere, they embraced happily. Azkadellia, who had derived much comfort from the Viewer's presence in her early days after the Witch, was also glad to see him. He even laid a soothing hand on her side, numbing the pain until he could really help. Then Raw looked up into DG's face, his expression sober.

"Raw sorry," he said.

DG looked at him inquisitively. "Sorry for what? We're the ones who should be sorry. We should have had you come to see us sooner."

Raw's eyes widened, and he looked at Kalm, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Sky!" Madi cried, running to the door the Viewers had just come through. He looked sad, and he played with a piece of string wrapped around his wrist rather than look up and face his family. Madigan pulled her son into a fierce hug, which he returned half-heartedly. "Don't you ever, ever do that to me again, you hear me?" she choked, holding his face between her hands. He nodded.

Meanwhile, DG was becoming increasingly aware of the feeling that something was closing in on her. "Raw," she said quietly. "Where is Vaeda?"

Raw was silent. "Sent message."

"Where is she?" DG asked again, unable to keep the fear from her voice.

"She went back to Ix," Sky said, coming up behind the Viewers. He held out the thing he had been playing with.

DG took her daughter's bracelet, the one Cain had made her when she was very small, and gazed at it through a blur of tears.

* * *

The cart bounced over another bump in the road, jerking Vaeda awake. She peered out of the straw she was hidden under. Raw had probably discovered she was missing by now and sent a message on to her parents, as well as several of his family members in order to find her. They would have a hard time doing so now though, she thought. This cart had been pulled over at the side of the Brick Route as she had walked along the road at dawn, its driver preoccupied with mending a split rein.

Vaeda had, like a shadow, hopped into the back and buried herself under the straw that surrounded crates of fresh fruit and vegetables. She paid careful attention to the direction of the cart. Thankfully, and perhaps because the driver made the pilgrimage often, they had waved him through at the Ixian border without checking the cart too thoroughly.

Now, as Vaeda peered through the slats, she saw one of the old stone markers that dotted the road. This must be an old part of the Route, she thought. She leaned forward, trying to see what the marker said. Under a small image of a sun was carved VOE, 5.

Five spans until they got to Voe. That was only another ten minutes or so. She had to stay covered until the cart stopped and she could run. From there...well, she was bound to be able to find a shadier part of town. Far from wanting to be there, she knew that Jeb's men would be watching areas like that for suspicious activity to find the root of Zero's supply lines.

Suddenly, Vaeda noticed that they were slowing. She drew back into her pile of hay as the cart driver stopped at the gate into Voe.

"Carrying any weapons?" a bored voice asked.

"No, sir."

"Animals?"

"Just the horse."

"Drive on."

The cart lurched into motion again. Vaeda held her breath as they rolled through the gate. The driver steered around a few turns to a large thoroughfare, where it looked as though he hoped to set up shop. When they had stopped, and she heard the driver clucking to the horse, Vaeda knew it was time to go. Quickly, she freed herself from the hay and stood up. She leapt down silently from the side of the cart just as the driver walked around to the back. Trying to look as natural as possible, Vaeda started down the street.

It seemed quite similar to any of the market streets in Central City. People were bustling about, taking care of their shopping, chatting. It struck Vaeda then that she hadn't the slightest idea what or who she was looking for apart from a vague notion.

She tried hard to remember what her father said about the areas she was barred from in Central City. Typically, Vaeda recalled, he referred to the Sin District. She was certain there was a similar area in Voe. Still walking, Vaeda plucked a few pieces of hay from her hair and made a turn at the street corner, looking for a sign that could help her in some way.

She made a turn down an alleyway behind a restaurant, from which emanated the sounds of laughter, voices, and loud music.

"Not lost, are you, sweets?" an old woman called at her from a rag pile as she hurried past the large rubbish bin. Vaeda ignored her. and pressed through the narrow lane. She emerged in what appeared to be a town square of sorts. There was a building with a large clock tower and a balcony that was most likely some kind of political house. In the center of the square was a neatly trimmed patch of lawn, surrounded by perfectly shorn hedges. A fountain rose in the middle of this, its watery bottom covered in coins.

Vaeda looked around. This place didn't seem to be anything like the one she had imagined. People were happy, smiling, and everything was brightly lit and green. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and started walking past the fountain, to the sidewalk on the other side of the plaza.

She brushed past two police officers and then a small crowd of people who had just crossed the street in the opposite direction. A slight movement caught Vaeda's attention, and she bent to investigate. A piece of paper, about the size of an OZian platinum bill, was fluttering to the ground.

Vaeda bent to pick it up. _Ix National Treasury, 75 kail._ She didn't know how much kail were worth, but Vaeda guessed that the one who had dropped it would miss this. As she looked up to see if one of the people she had bumped into was looking for it, a voice yelled, "Help! My pocket's been picked! There! There, look there!"

Vaeda looked straight into the old man's eyes as he called for the police officers. The two hurried past the old man, who was still pointing his finger dramatically at Vaeda. _Run_. Vaeda dropped the note and took off running around the corner. She could still hear the man's yelling and the policemen's footfalls behind her, not quite as quickly paced as her own. She knew she had to ditch them, and fast.

Thinking quickly, as a mob of people crossed the road up ahead, she put on a burst of speed and disappeared into it. However, thinking that the police would assume she was somewhere in the group, she made a detour down the first alleyway her cover passed, and ducked behind a cracked dustbin just as the police ran by the passageway's opening.

Putting a hand over her chest, trying to slow her breathing, Vaeda looked down the alleyway. There was a bend in the brick walls that lined the backstreet. Deciding that it was better to avoid the main thoroughfares for a little while, Vaeda got to her feet and started down the alley. She rounded the bend and stopped dead.

* * *

Vaeda's my girl! Love your reviews. Enjoy!

Fae


	13. Threatened

Chapter Fourteen

DG was stretched on the sofa at the end of her mother's bed, staring at the wall. Azkadellia, who had been healed—that is, her open cuts were, Raw could not do much about broken bones—lay on the bed next to Athaliea, who looked pale and strained. Since Thalie's capture and Vaeda's first disappearance, she had not left her room very much.

Needless to say, Athaliea had not taken Vaeda's second escape well. She looked as though she wanted to faint when DG told her. Only hours later, DG and Azkadellia had gravitated to her as she was the only person they could find who could understand their situation. Ava, the ever-present, diligent nurse, sat quietly, almost invisibly in a far corner of the room. No one questioned her; she operated under the healer's orders.

Athaliea absently ran her hand through a few strands of Azkadellia's hair as she lay close to her mother's side. They hadn't spoken. Daughters had merely come to mother in one powerfully understanding moment and had stayed there, sharing their energy if nothing else.

A knock came at the door, interrupting the quiet.

"Yes?" Athaliea called.

"It's me," came Cain's voice. DG looked back at her mother, who nodded.

"Just a moment, Wyatt," Athaliea called. She pulled her dressing gown tighter about her shoulders and adjusted herself against her pillows. DG got up and opened the door.

"Hey," Cain said. He kissed his wife, then gave a half-smile to his mother- and sister-in-law. "Listen, I'm sorry," he said, addressing DG, "but Zipperhead needs a word. He and Raw are trying to figure out why the Viewers' message didn't arrive. Raw thinks it sounds fishy. Can you come?"

DG nodded. "All right. I'll be back," she said to the other two. Athaliea raised one hand and nodded.

Outside the Queen Mother's apartments, Ahamo, Raw, and Ambrose were gathered, heads bent together.

"Are you sure you asked all the staff?" Ahamo was saying.

"All of them who were working that day," Ambrose answered.

"Well, did Raw check them?"

"There were over four hundred people—we don't have time for that."

"I think—"

"No, Dad," DG interrupted. "He's right. We don't have any time to waste. We have to do something proactive."

"Speaking of which," Ambrose said, rounding on DG. "What's Cain talking about, you two going in after Vaeda and meeting up with Jeb?"

"We only thought of that as a last resort," DG said quickly. "If things get really bad."

"They just did," Ambrose said. He held out a piece of paper. It was a printed transcript of a telewire conversation between Caller, meaning that the person had remained unidentified, and EO479, Embassy Operator 479. "There's no mistaking it this time. It has to be Zero."

DG found the spot he pointed to and read.

_**Caller:**__ Look, I keep telling you, it doesn't matter. I know I can trust you to get this message to the right people._

_**EO479:**__ Sir, I_—

_**Caller: **__Just tell your lady that if she wants what I'm sure she does, she knows where to find me._

_**EO479:**__ Who_—

_**Caller:**__ I repeat. She knows __exactly__ where to find me. And you might let her know that I've been lenient, and she doesn't have much more time._

_**-----{DISCONNECT}-----**_

"When did this come in?" DG asked.

"About an hour ago," Cain said.

DG nodded as she read through again. "'Your lady'...well, that's Az, obviously...so he's talking about Thalie."

"Or someone working for him is."

DG read on. "What does he mean, 'I keep telling you?'"

"The operator asked for his name, but we know why he would want to remain anonymous."

"But why would Az..." DG trailed off, looking back at the closed door of the room she had just left. Then, she shook her head as though trying to clear it. "Zero has Thalie, and made this call to threaten Az and get her to come to him. All right, we know that and we know why." She didn't want to say the thing that was screaming in the moment's pause. "But how does this connect to Raw's message not coming through...and Vaeda?" her voice caught slightly on her daughter's name.


	14. Eymoar Alley

Chapter Fifteen

It seemed that Vaeda had found just what she was looking for. Flickering neon signs hung everywhere. The whole area stank, the smell almost rising from the rubbish-blocked sewers themselves. This district, if it could so be called, was the direct antithesis of the shining brightness she had left behind. This is what Vaeda had pictured her destination to look like.

However, now that she was here, she felt as though she'd rather return to the other half. Shivering, Vaeda tucked her fists under her arms for warmth. The temperature, already quite cold in the north during early spring, seemed to have dropped ten degrees just by entering this new part of town. However, more pressing matters faced her. If Jeb had infiltrated the city, as he surely had in the day since Vaeda had seen him, then she had to find one of his men.

Finding a disguised soldier patrolling this area was going to be far from easy. Trying to think, she shut her eyes and tried to picture some of the faces of Jeb's men. To her surprise, Vaeda found that she could remember quite a lot of them, if not their names.

She opened her eyes again, taking in her surroundings. She looked up at the street sign above her pointing out of the backstreet she'd just emerged from, "Eymoar Alley."

Vaeda shivered, glancing up and down the sidewalk in both directions. It was eerily deserted except for a few people. Loud, thudding music pulsed from a nearby bar. Eymoar Alley seemed to be a caricature of the Voe she had left behind. Making sure that her necklace was tucked out of sight under her shirt, Vaeda started walking in the direction of the bar. As she passed, the burly barman appeared in the doorway, hauling a man by his jacket. Vaeda had to dodge the flying drunk as he hit the pavement behind her. She ducked her head, hurrying on.

She came to the end of the block. Glancing down one way, Vaeda saw a huge mass of people, yelling and shoving. Assuming that it was a fight (it sounded as though someone was taking bets), Vaeda walked in the opposite direction, keeping her eyes peeled. She shivered again and wrapped her arms tighter about herself. Cursing herself for not thinking to bring something thicker to wear, Vaeda was not paying attention to where she was walking.

Someone slammed into her as she looked back at the yelling mob.

"Oh, damn," said a male voice. "I'm sorry. Here, let me help you up."

For Vaeda had been knocked to the ground by this hugely muscled man. She accepted his hand and got to her feet.

"It's all right," she mumbled, ducking her face before he could recognise her eyes. Then, Vaeda moved to go past him.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Vaeda?"

Her heart stopped. In the split second she had, she contemplated just walking.

"Vaeda? Didn't we send you home yesterday?"

A rush of blood to her brain almost made Vaeda dizzy as she turned around. He was one of Jeb's men.

"I—I couldn't go back," she said.

The man looked almost amused. "I thought as much. I told Jeb as well. Well, I guess you'd better come with me."

"Oh, I—"

"Come on, this isn't a safe place for you to be. I'll take you back to my headquarters."

"Don't take me back to Central City," Vaeda pleaded.

"It's a little late to do that now," he said. "We'll have to keep you safe here until we rescue the princess." They rounded a corner, Vaeda trotting to keep up with the huge man's brisk pace. "I'm Vail, by the way. Relian Vail. But my name around here is Jareth, got it?"

Vaeda nodded, out of breath from jogging. Vail noticed and slowed down.

"How did you even get back here without being caught?" he asked in some amazement as they rounded another corner.

"I hopped in the back of a vegetable cart," Vaeda said, a hint of pride in her voice.

Vail chuckled. "Smart." They made another turn, down a tiny alleyway. At the end, a man struggled with unloading crates from the back of a large truck.

"Where's Jeb's boy, then?" Vail asked.

Vaeda looked up at him guiltily. "I left him with the Viewers."

"Good," Vail muttered. "Makes my job easier."

Vaeda stopped and stared at him. "What?"

And Vail scooped her up as easily as if she were a doll.

"Sorry, kid," he said, depositing her in a crate that the man who had been struggling with it moments before held open. "I ain't Commander Vail. But I am takin' ya to headquarters."

"What? No! NO!" Vaeda shrieked. She started to stand up, but the impostor shoved her back in. The other man slammed the lid down, hitting Vaeda hard on top of the head. She blacked out and saw no more.


	15. Zero

Chapter Sixteen

When Vaeda came to, she was in what looked like a very, very old prison cell. She lay on a rusted bench. A shallow basin lay in the floor, presumably to catch whatever spilled from the ominous-looking pipe above it. The door was ancient-looking and corroded, but solid.

"Oi! She's awake!" a harsh voice shouted. Two men appeared around the corner close to her cell. Vaeda backed away from where they stood. These were unmistakably longcoats; they were dressed in the same manner as the men that had attacked her family less than a week before.

"Come on, you," one of the longcoats said. The other stepped to the handled wheel by the wall, and cranked it twice. The door to Vaeda's prison rose, and the longcoat who had spoken marched in and seized her by the upper arm.

She did not fight. She had a shrewd idea of where she was being taken, and it would do her no good to try and escape now.

* * *

DG had reentered her mother's apartments with Ahamo to share the bad tidings brought in both messages. Ava had been asked to wait with Cain and Ambrose in the outer sitting room. Ahamo now held Athaliea, who looked more ill than ever as she leaned back against him with closed eyes.

"What does he mean, 'she knows where to find me'?" DG asked, scanning the paper. Her hands were trembling so badly she was finding it difficult to read what she held in front of her, but she was determined to stay strong. "Why would you know where to find him?"

Azkadellia stared at her knees, holding her head as she moved it slowly back and forth. "I have no idea," she whispered finally. She then gave a shuddering breath and a dry sob, then gasped at the pain in her side. Athaliea's hand flew out protectively, touching her daughter gently while Az slowly straightened up again. "He probably means the Witch knows where to find him," she said contemptuously. "But it doesn't make _sense_," she insisted. "Zero was from Quade, a dirt-poor nothing-turned-tin when he found the Witch. He'd never been to Ix in his life bef--" Azkadellia stopped short.

"Before? Before what, Az?" DG asked, her eyes suddenly alight with hope.

"I...I'd forgotten all about this," Azkadellia said slowly, her eyes wide.

"What, darling?" Athaliea asked, now fully alert.

"She...wanted to take over Ix as well. And Quox and Fliaan eventually. But Ix was her first goal after the OZ. She started building another Black Tower in Ix, north of Voe. I can't believe I'd forgotten...the Tower in Ix must still be standing, or some part of it. That's where he wants me to go."

"Bring them in here," Athaliea told her younger daughter, nodding at the door and sitting up a little straighter. DG obeyed, allowing Cain and Ambrose entry. Azkadellia explained what she had realised. By the time she had finished, Ambrose was facing the window with his hands steepled over his mouth and Cain's brow was furrowed.

"Well," Ambrose said after several moments. "You're not going anywhere," he told Azkadellia. Her eyebrows shot up, but before she could argue, Cain spoke.

"We need to get to Ix," he said bluntly.

"Wait, why not send Jeb the message?" Ahamo asked. "Or is he still unreachable?"

"We received a brief dispatch that they successfully made it into Voe unnoticed, but we haven't heard an all-clear for correspondence yet. It probably means they can't secure a livescreen or a telewire long enough to have a conversation," Ambrose said.

"So we have to go into Ix?" DG's eyes were lighting up in anticipation.

"No, I do," Cain and Ambrose said in unison.

This immediately brought out arguments from Azkadellia and DG. Athaliea raised her hands for silence, which fell as it would over an unruly classroom.

"I think it best," she said after a moment, "if none of us goes. Wait." For both her daughters had opened their mouths to speak. "We shall send a trustworthy messenger into Voe to locate Jeb, who will take his men to the Tower."

Silence met her suggestion.

"But," DG said after a minute, "what about Zero's request? He says he wants Az to come."

A gentle knock came at the door. Cain, the closest, opened it to see Ava nervously fingering a piece of paper. "Sir," she said. "This just came."

Cain took it from her and closed the door. He looked at the second paper as though it were a bomb. Then he slowly began to read aloud.

* * *

"Well, you know, I really do owe you quite a lot," Zero said, leaning back in his chair comfortably as he surveyed Vaeda, who glared back at him.

"Where's my cousin?" she asked.

"That's not really your concern. You're just here to assist me," he returned.

Vaeda scoffed. "Assist you with what?"

Zero was up in an instant, his face inches from hers. "Don't tempt me," he spat. Vaeda did not flinch. He gazed into her face for another moment before turning back. "Here I was, thinking that I wasn't going to be able to get everything I wanted with just one girl...and then my, ah, _friend_ back in the Embassy sees a message that you're wandering around Ix alone. Well, now I get just what I was hoping for, all at once. I can honestly say I'm thrilled." He sat down again, smirking. "Now that your parents know you're here...let's just say I know Wyatt Cain pretty well. You won't even have to tell me when they're coming. I'll know."

Vaeda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

Zero's face was hard and cold as he ordered two of his men to take her back to her cell.


	16. Voe

Chapter Seventeen

"You're not seriously considering going?"

"I'm not considering, I'm _doing_," Cain told Ambrose as he stuffed a spare shirt in his rucksack and slid his pistol into his hip holster.

"I am, too," DG said, appearing in the doorframe of the bathroom, looking quite like the DG the two men had met fifteen annuals before in her old jacket. When Cain sighed, she glared fiercely at him. "No, we've had this discussion. I'm not doing it again. We are both going, Madi and Raw are coming with us, and we're meeting with Jeb in Voe."

"Then I think I should come as well," Ambrose said.

"No--"

"I'm not going to let you all walk into certain doom without me."

"Hate to break it to you, Zipperhead," Cain said, straightening up with his bag, "but your face is pretty recognisable now. I think you might attract a little more attention than you did last time."

"I'm sure if I try really hard I can come up with something," Ambrose said disparagingly.

"Glitch," DG said slowly. "Really, _we're_ already taking a huge risk here. Besides, Zero asked for Az to come. He's waiting for her. We can't let you go; she's going to try if you do."

"All the more reason--"

"No, Glitch," Cain said.

"Sorry, Tin Man. My daughter's out there too, and I'm pulling the rank card. Az will just have to listen to me."

So at ten o'clock that night, Ambrose, DG, and Cain climbed into an ancient truck, driven by an Embassy guard. Azkadellia had declined to come down. She was furious that she, the Queen, was being barred from a rescue mission for her child, though Ambrose claimed that she understood.

As they rumbled out the back of the Embassy, DG squeezed her husband's hand. The guard driving, in addition to the one who was nodding off in the back under his hat, had been handpicked by Madigan to accompany them. Madi had left Sky under Ahamo and Athaliea's watchful gaze. She was not letting him go anywhere, much to his chagrin. Glad as Madi had been to have him back, Sky had been promptly grounded by his mother. In fact, sleeping on the sofa in Athaliea's apartments was a major increase in his freedom.

"This is what we have to do, right?" Cain whispered, half to himself and half to DG. She surveyed him for a moment, a little taken aback by his tone.

"After fifteen annuals, this problem is way overdue," DG answered. "Zero's been the cause of so much pain for you...and for Jeb. Now he wants to keep hurting us. It's time, Wyatt."

* * *

The battered old truck arrived in Voe inconspicuously. Documents had been forged, and none of its passengers were recognisable enough to catch the night-shift gateman's attention at the end of his working hours.

"Jeb's probably got headquarters somewhere in Eymoar Alley. That's where almost all the black market trades are, and we were fairly certain that was where Zero was getting his backing," Madi said quietly, hopping down from the truck. The guard from the backseat, his face now covered from the bitter cold under a scarf, followed her more gingerly.

Madi glanced up at the street sign. "This way," she said, and the group followed her down the narrow road. They came to the end of their block and followed an alleyway to the darker part of town.

As they stopped outside a bar where several women were cackling loudly over some electric-blue drinks, a rough-faced man pushed through them in the opposite direction, slamming straight into the scarf-covered guard. He gasped as though he were in incredible pain and instinctively brought a hand to his chest. A manicured, slender hand.

Ambrose clenched his jaw and stepped toward his wife, yanking down the scarf that covered her face. "What--" he began.

"He would have just killed you all if you really came without me. I'm not losing you." Az tugged her scarf back up.

DG's face was trapped somewhere between amused, impressed, and irritated. "How did you get here?"

"The average security guard isn't exactly averse to ten platinums," Az said haughtily, but with a proud smile.

Madi looked annoyed that her plans were suddenly disrupted. "Well, come on, we have to get moving," she said. The group started moving again, keeping heads low. "Cain, take DG and Raw, walk on the other side of the street," she whispered to her father-in-law.

"Wait," Raw said, stopping. His eyes were closed. "Feel Jeb," he said. Suddenly, he turned around and began walking in the complete opposite direction. Raw led them all the way back down the block, finally stopping in front of a tall, shadowed building with a faded sign. It was an old hotel.

They trooped in, past the abandoned desk and towards the lifts. Cain pressed a button, and one of the ancient machines could be heard creaking down to meet them.

"Let's try the top first," Madi said, hitting the button emblazoned with a seven.

They creaked and moaned all the way to the top, where the elevator shuddered to a halt. When the doors slid open, all six were staring into the barrel of a gun.

"Madi?" Jeb's voice sounded out from somewhere further along the hallway.

He shoved his way forward and stared confusedly into the faces of his family and friends. "What are you all doing here?" he asked, stepping back to let them into the hallway. "Come on," he said, gesturing them into a room partway down the corridor.

That afternoon, a disguised Raw, Cain, DG, and Ambrose, flanked by Azkadellia, Madi, Jeb, and five of his men, climbed into the now exceedingly over-crowded truck. The rest of the men would follow and wait for the others to leave before going in after the longcoats.

Inside the truck, DG tried to reach her daughter.

* * *

_Vaeda. Sweetheart, please answer me._ Vaeda sat bolt upright on the bench she had been lying on. She had finally allowed her mother access to her mind but it was the first time she had heard DG's voice in days.

_Mom?_

_Vaeda! We're coming for you, sweetie. Don't worry._

_Wait, no, you can't--_

DG cut across her. _Don't worry, we'll be there soon._

_Mom, he knows you're coming. He knows Dad would come looking for me,_ Vaeda told her.

_We have a plan. Don't worry, _DG assured her.

_But he said that he has a friend in the Embassy. He knows you're not there!_

_Vaeda, just trust me. Everything's going to be all right. He can't possibly know we're coming. We would know if there was a longcoat in the Embassy._

Even Vaeda's thought sounded scared. _Please be careful._

_We will, honey._

After her mother's voice faded away, Vaeda got to her feet and shouted, "Hey! Hey! I need to talk to your boss!" Two longcoats rounded the corner. "Come on," she snapped. "He's going to want to hear this," Vaeda told them disparagingly when they didn't immediately open the door.

One of them stepped back and turned the wheel. The door rose and Vaeda stepped out, beginning to walk the way she had when she had been hauled up to Zero earlier. Quickening her pace, she put a little bit more distance between herself and the longcoats, so that she rounded the corner before them. Could it really be this easy?

Once she had made it, Vaeda turned back around and brought forward all the magic she had, coupled with every feeling that she now had pulsing through her veins. Rage, shame, and fear pounded in her ears. The two longcoats were not expecting the short girl to fling a powerful flash of light into their faces, bowling them over.

Trembling from head to toe as she looked at the two men she had just knocked unconscious, Vaeda started to back away. She was going to find Thalie and get them both out before her family could come after them.

* * *

I know what you're thinking. But yes, I decided that these longcoats are particularly stupid, and I enjoyed having a thirteen-year-old knock them out.

F


	17. Plan of Attack

Chapter Eighteen

Cain had the oddest sense of déjà vu as he crouched on the hillside between Jeb and Ambrose, looking at the looming, half-completed tower. In fact, it wasn't quite as involved as the Black Tower had been in the Zone because there was no SunSeeder required here. Still, it stood threatening and gloomy before them.

"Madi and I will take the men to the guard center, ambush the longcoats there, and then figure out where Zero is," Jeb said. "Dad, you, Deeg, Raw, Az, and Ambrose will enter through those uncompleted waste pipes. You'll get Thalie and Vaeda, then get out as fast as you can." He pointed at the base of the tower, where two wide conduits gaped from the building's side. Ambrose opened his mouth as if to argue. "No, it'll help if we all stay together. I know it's a lot of you, but if we split up there's a bigger risk," Jeb told him.

"Deeg," Cain called over his shoulder. She came and knelt down beside him. "You think you can remember where the cells are?"

She nodded. "If I can't, Raw can."

"All right," Cain said. He clapped his son on the shoulder. "Let's go."

The first group, Jeb's, began warily making their way down the hillside. Cain waited until they were at the base of the slope, then gestured to his group. They quickly got down and into the shadow of the huge structure. Azkadellia froze for a moment, looking up at the monolith. Ambrose squeezed her wrist, and she hurried onward. Glancing back for only a moment, Ambrose followed his wife through the pipeline into the tower.

* * *

The suns were going down. Surely by now Vaeda's absence had been noticed. No matter. All she had to do was keep in the shadows. Not many longcoats seemed to be patrolling the floors.

Vaeda was on her third floor of empty cells, still searching desperately for her cousin. She slowly sank down at yet another fork of twisting, dark hallways and closed her eyes. Some help she was. Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to her. If Thalie was on the same floor she was on now, then Vaeda should be able to reach her.

Trying to channel the same powerful magic she had had when she hit the longcoats, Vaeda screwed up her face in concentration.

_Thalie. Thalie. Can you hear me?_

_V-Vaeda?_ Vaeda felt blood rush to her head as her cousin's voice rang more clearly than ever through her mind. _How can I hear you like this?_

_I...I don't know. Where are you? I've been captured too but I got out of my cell. _Vaeda strained, waiting to hear Thalie again.

_I don't know where I am. I can't..._Thalie trailed off.

_What? _Vaeda demanded.

_There's a light--I think it's the suns, coming through at the very end of the hallway I'm on._

Vaeda wrinkled her brow in frustration. _A light? I don't see...OH!_

_What? _Thalie asked, panicked.

_I'm coming, Thalie, don't worry!_ Vaeda took off down the corridor, where the faintest gleam of natural light was filtering through a narrow window. She stopped, looking down the new aisle of doors. Her heart pounded, excitement mounting as she reached the end.

"Vaeda!" A hand was flung out of the last cell.

"Shh, Thalie," Vaeda whispered, looking around. "Quiet. We need to get out of here." She stepped over to the wall and turned the handle several times in both directions before the door of her cousin's cell opened.

Thalie walked out, her eyes wide. She looked a little thin, and was still wearing the dress she had been at the Eclipse Day celebrations, though it was stained and torn now. Her eyes filling with tears, Thalie held her arms out to Vaeda, and they embraced.

"I'm so glad you're all right," Vaeda said quietly.

"Me too," Thalie answered. She took Vaeda's hand. Instantly, Vaeda felt the warm glow of their combined magic tingling her arm. "Let's go home."

They started down the hallway, watching carefully for any sign of pursuers. When they came to the end, Vaeda spied the stairway she had come up earlier. _This way_, she told Thalie.

_This is amazing. How are we talking like this? It was so fuzzy before,_ Thalie said, marvelling at their new ability.

_I don't know,_ Vaeda thought, coming to the end of the steps. _I guess it--_

"Going somewhere?" A tremendous, bearded longcoat stood before them, his incredible breadth taking up most of the doorway. He scooped them up, Thalie over his shoulder and Vaeda under his arm, impervious to their attempts to resist.


	18. The House of Gale

Chapter Nineteen

"One spell, and it will be your last," Zero hissed as he circled Vaeda and Thalie. "Bring them in," he barked at the guard. They were back in the green marble office of sorts that Vaeda had been in when she had met Zero. She clenched her cousin's hand--who was Zero bringing in? Her parents? Had he captured them? Was she too late?

The longcoat had re-entered, this time with a companion. Each of them was holding up a person. One had long, red hair. The other had blonde.

"Jeb! Madi!" Vaeda shrieked. Madigan looked up into Vaeda's face, stunned. Jeb did not respond. A lot of blood was pouring from a wound on the back of his head.

"Where are the others?" Zero demanded.

"Dead," one of the longcoats supplied.

Everything inside Vaeda stopped moving. The world could have exploded, Zero could have dropped to his knees before them and begged forgiveness, and she wouldn't have cared. Her parents were gone. Gone because of her. It was all her fault. She had gotten her parents killed. As she stood there, emotion and pain welling inside her, she didn't feel herself drop her cousin's hand.

Zero, meanwhile, was preoccupied with Jeb.

"Baby boy Cain," he mocked, lifting Jeb's jaw. As Jeb struggled to meet Zero's eyes, Zero backhanded him across the face.

"_No_!" Madi yelled. "Stay _away_ from him!"

Zero ignored her and knelt down by where Jeb lay on the ground. "Last time I saw you was through the window of that suit. 'Member that? I think it's time we finally--"

Vaeda sent a spell flying at Zero's turned back. She knew it was different from any other kind of magic she had used because of the pounding in her ears; her adrenaline was backing this one, and it had much more power. Zero was pitched headlong into the wall with a huge cracking sound against the slab of marble he met.

"I warned you," he shouted, trying to straighten up. "Now you get the same as their friends!" He lurched towards Vaeda. The world seemed to move in slow motion as Vaeda realised what was going to happen next. She had an odd, detached feeling, even as Zero's enormous hands reached for her throat. She could see her parents again, she thought morbidly in a final moment of panic and acceptance.

"_Vaeda, no_!" Thalie shrieked. Zero's hands closed around Vaeda's throat and began crushing her windpipe. Softly, as if from a great distance, she heard Madi yelling and fighting her captor. She felt Thalie start for Zero as well, but what could she do?

"You Cains," Zero hissed through his teeth as he clenched Vaeda's neck. "You never know when to stop, but now you're going to learn."

A crash echoed behind him as Vaeda's vision blacked out. The room swirled for a moment, then vanished. Her hearing dimmed as her lungs screamed for air.

Suddenly, she felt herself falling to the ground and hit the marble floor. Air seared down her throat, making her eyes water.

"Vaeda, come on, get up." Thalie was kneeling in front of her, pulling Vaeda up by her arms. Thalie yanked her to the corner of the room, so that their backs were to the wall. "Are you all right?" Thalie asked. Vaeda couldn't answer.

She was fairly certain she was hallucinating. Her father was fighting Zero furiously, hit after hit. DG was dragging Madi to her feet and Azkadellia was on the floor with Jeb, who appeared to have lost consciousness.

"Thalie!"

"Daddy!"

Ambrose came racing over and pushed both girls behind him in a protective stance as one of the longcoats advanced on the three of them. Vaeda kept trying to look around his arms, attempting to see what was going on, but stopped as she saw her uncle employ a series of highly complex movements. Fighting a mad desire to laugh, Vaeda watched the longcoat fall backward. Thalie looked equally stunned.

Ambrose turned back, pushing them farther behind his body. Vaeda looked around him. Madi and DG had effectively taken out the other longcoats who had been in the room. They now turned to the larger battle between Zero and Cain.

Zero's nose was bleeding heavily as he straightened, recovering from Cain's last hit. Cain watched him warily, his split knuckles raised defencively. "You," Zero said thickly through a mouth full of blood, "just--won't--die!" He lunged for Cain's throat, cracking their skulls together.

"Dad!" Vaeda cried as she saw her father fall. She forced herself from behind Ambrose as Zero drew his gun on a feebly stirring Cain. This time, she didn't need to think about it. Her magic came willingly to her fingers. She wanted to cause Zero as much pain as he had made her feel, but someone caught her hand as she stepped in front of her father.

DG was looking at her, holding tight to her daughter's fingers. Zero baulked for the slightest instant at the light that glowed between them. "Az," DG said loudly, holding out her other hand. Azkadellia left Jeb in Madi's arms and took her sister's outstretched palm. Vaeda felt another hand slip into hers, forming a solid line in front of Cain. Zero had a new look in his cold eyes as he very obviously tried to decide where to aim his pistol.

"What's the matter, Zero?" Azkadellia asked in a voice that Vaeda had never heard her use before. It was chilling, terrifying. "Still afraid of witches after all this time?"

Behind her, Vaeda heard her father getting up, but she didn't dare move. Zero's gaze was fixed on Azkadellia.

"I am going to make you _all_ pay for what you've done!" he yelled angrily, pointing the gun at Azkadellia. "You've made my life hell, but now--"

A shot echoed around the room. Zero's face changed from furious to stunned. He looked down at the wound pouring blood from his chest, then back up into Cain's face with a confused expression. Then, once again in slow motion, Zero fell forward and moved no more.

* * *

No reviews at all? None? I'm a little sad...have I lost your attention? Hope you liked Glitchy's little moment to shine.

F


	19. The Family

Chapter Twenty

None of the Gale women broke their line. Ambrose stepped forward.

"Is he...?"

"Yeah," Cain said, massaging his forehead, where already a lump was forming. He knelt down beside Zero and felt for his pulse. "Oh boy..."

Vaeda felt her legs start shaking and turned towards her mother, burying her face against DG's shirt. DG returned the embrace, dropping Azkadellia's hand.

"I thought you were..." Vaeda trailed off brokenly. "I thought I wasn't going to see you again."

"Oh, honey," DG said into her hair. "It's all right, everything's all right now." Vaeda looked up as she felt her father come and hug them both. She became aware that tears were pouring down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking up at her parents. "I didn't mean--" But suddenly a thought occurred to her. "Wait, Zero knew you were coming! He said he has someone in the Embassy. What if they're still there with Grandma and Grandpa?"

Cain looked at DG. "I'm going to go see if any of those longcoats downstairs can tell us if that's true. We need to get back to the truck. Glitch," he said. The consort looked up. "Can you help Madi get Jeb out of here? Deeg, you come with me. Vaeda, Thalie, stay with Az."

* * *

"Madi, where are the others?" DG called, dreading the answer.

Madigan got out of the back of the truck, where she had been dressing Jeb's wound. She sighed. "They were killed. All five, Vail, McKent...they would have gotten Jeb, too, if Roland hadn't jumped in the way."

DG looked down. "We should bury them. We--"

"DG! Glitch got your parents on the telewire. They caught on to the spy before we did. It was Ava," Cain said in amazement. "She was planted in the hospital a week before the attack and volunteered to be Az's private nurse. She and Zero were...well, together, I guess. They've got her on lockdown."

"Ava?" Azkadellia asked, walking out to the truck. "That..." She sat down on the running board. "Unbelievable."

Meanwhile, partway up the hillside, Vaeda and Thalie sat in silence, observing the scene in front of them.

"Grandma and Grandpa are safe?" Thalie asked, leaning her head against Vaeda's knee.

Vaeda nodded. "Guess so." She watched her mother and father, followed by Madigan, re-enter the tower. Several minutes later, they returned bearing makeshift stretchers between them. Cain and Ambrose carried Jeb's second-in-command, DG and Madi another Tin Man. Vaeda looked at her knees. It was her fault those men were dead. Thalie, exhausted, was nodding against her cousin's legs. Vaeda was grateful, for it gave her more time to herself.

She blamed herself for Jeb, lying in the back of the truck with his head cut open. It was her fault that those five Tin Men were dead. Nothing was ever going to change that she now had six people's blood on her hands.

"Hi, V," DG said, coming up the slope quietly.

Vaeda nodded. Then she felt DG probing in her mind.

"Oh," DG finally said. She looked at her daughter. "It's not your fault, Vaeda. Jeb would have figured it out eventually, and they would have had to face the same longcoats."

"I know, I just...I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Vaeda said, looking at her mother.

"You know," DG said, "for a really long time, I blamed myself for the Witch using Az. I still do sometimes. Your dad told me once that there are some things we can't control. As hard as it is to let go and accept it, that's just what you have to do."

Vaeda wiped her face. "How can I?"

"It's not easy, hon," DG admitted, rubbing her back, "but that's what you've got Dad, and me, and Thalie, and your grandparents for. That's what Sky and Madi and Jeb are here for. We're all here to love and help each other. You understand?"

Vaeda nodded and wrapped her arms around her mother. They sat together in the moonlight for a long while, listening to Thalie's breathing.

"Deeg? Vaeda?" Cain's voice cut through the darkness.

"Coming!" DG called. "Get Thalie, sweetheart," she said to Vaeda. Vaeda lifted her cousin and put an arm around her middle, holding her up as they walked down the hillside.

As DG, Vaeda, and Thalie climbed into the truck, Vaeda looked at her father. "What about the other longcoats?"

"We took away their weapons and locked them in a cell. There aren't many of them. Jeb's men are on their way up here," Cain said. "They'll follow us back home and we'll get them in prison." He closed the back doors. Vaeda quickly scrambled up to the front seat and buckled her safety belt before her father even reached the cab.

In the back, Thalie had fallen asleep again on her parents' laps. DG sat opposite them, next to Madigan, who held Jeb's head in her lap and was talking to him started the engine and the truck jolted to life, heading for the dirt road that twisted off into the trees. Vaeda watched the glowing hands of the clock on the dash circle slowly around. Two hours into the journey, everyone was asleep except for her and her father.

Cain cleared his throat and put an arm around his daughter. She undid her seatbelt and slid closer to him. "V," he began, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you before."

Vaeda had had a feeling that this was coming. "I wasn't scared," she said honestly. In truth, she had been too relieved to find her parents alive to allow room for any other emotion.

"Still," Cain said. "I want you to understand. I never would have...killed him if I had another choice. But I told you before, if he was going to try and hurt my family again, things weren't going to be easy."

"I know, Dad," Vaeda answered quietly. "I understand. Thank you," she said, cuddling close to him.

Cain rubbed her arm, seeming to accept her answer. "I love you, Vaeda."

"I love you too, Dad."


	20. On the House

Chapter Twenty-One

Tired as she was, Vaeda put on a burst of speed as she ran up the stairs of the Embassy's main hall, dragging Thalie by the hand. Finally, they reached the right floor and Vaeda raised her hand to knock.

"Come in," she heard Ahamo call. She turned the knob and let the door swing open, a huge smile on her face.

"VAEDA!" someone roared. "THALIE!" A huge weight flung itself over the cousins' necks as Sky vaulted into them. "Oops, sorry," he said as Vaeda almost lost her balance. They all laughed as he straightened up.

Vaeda looked around Sky at her grandfather. He held his arms open, grinning happily. She ran to him, Thalie on her heels.

"I was so worried," Ahamo said to both of them. He bent and picked up Thalie, who returned the hug happily before he set her down.

"Vaeda?"

Athaliea's voice came from the bedroom. Both girls looked at Ahamo, who nodded, still beaming. Thalie ran in first.

"Grandma!"

"Thalie, my darling," Athaliea cried joyfully. Vaeda then stepped in surreptitiously. Her grandmother sat in her chair by the window, holding Thalie tightly. "Vaeda," she said, holding out an arm as tears spilled down her face. She sniffed as her older granddaughter joined her.

They heard everyone else enter the sitting room.

"Mom!" Sky shouted. "Where's Dad?"

"It's okay, honey," Vaeda heard Madi say. "They're taking care of him. We'll go see him later."

"Shall we go out?" Athaliea asked the girls. Thalie nodded and they both got up, Thalie holding her hand while Vaeda pushed Athaliea to the door.

It occurred to Vaeda as they came into the sitting room how very silly they all looked. Well, perhaps not Madi and Cain as much as the others. Azkadellia was in her stolen security guard's outfit, DG in her oldest clothes. Ambrose was in his shirtsleeves and an old pair of pants. Vaeda still wore her father's shirt and her dirty leggings.

"Mom," DG said, coming forward and hugging Athaliea. Az followed her.

"I'm so glad you're all right," Athaliea said, still holding Azkadellia.

Vaeda sat lightly on the arm of her chair. "Now we can go home."

Cain smiled, putting an arm around DG. "I think so," he said.

The family spent the better part of the morning in that sitting room, each explaining their part of the story. It was with less than a hint of pride that Sky told of his own triumph; he had been the one to successfully uncover Ava as Zero's spy.

"Yes, Madi," Athaliea said. "I'm sorry he got away from us. He's really very smart, you know."

"Oh, it's all right," Madigan answered resignedly, ruffling Sky's hair. He flattened it again and continued his story.

"Anyway," he said, "She kept hanging around the telewire boards, talking to the operators on their breaks. Then, when one of them came running out with a message and found a Tin Man, I guess she figured she was caught, so she started going back upstairs. I followed her and saw her packing, so I grabbed one of the guards, and they arrested her." He finished with a self-satisfied grin, then leaned back comfortably between his mother and Vaeda, who teasingly punched him in the shoulder.

Thalie spoke up before too long that she was hungry, and it was with some surprise that Vaeda noticed she was as well. No-one had had what could be called real food in almost twenty-four hours. Each left in their own directions. Ambrose and Az had to come up with a cover story, glorifying the roles of Jeb Cain and his Tin Men in the safe return of the Crown Princess. Vaeda and her parents went to wash up in their rooms, ordered lunch, and then laid down. Vaeda, who had not slept the night before, gladly napped for several hours.

When she woke, it was dark, and it was with a feeling of no longer being alone. She sat up, her heart starting to race.

"V?" Thalie's voice came through the darkness.

"Oh," Vaeda breathed. "It's you."

"Wanna have a camp-out?" Thalie asked. They had done this when they were quite a bit younger. Vaeda nodded as her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw Thalie hop onto the bed. They yanked the covers up over their heads and used their knees to make them into a little tent. Then, they linked hands, creating the bright white glow that lit up their hiding place.

"Vaeda?" Thalie asked as they both started to fall asleep again.

"Mm?" Vaeda yawned.

"Thanks for saving me."

"It wasn't just me," Vaeda told her, opening her eyes and frowning.

"Maybe," Thalie said sagely, "but I still owe you big time."

"This one's on the house."


	21. Balanced

Chapter Twenty-Two

Everything was prepared for the Royal Family to return to Finaqua. Vaeda, followed by Thalie, hugged Sky and Madi on the steps of the Embassy.

"See you soon," Sky said, tickling Thalie in the ribs.

"Just as soon as Jeb's better, we'll be down to visit, all right?" Madi said as she lifted Thalie in a tight hug. Her husband was still recovering from his head injury but the healers were certain he would be perfectly fine.

"Bye, Mads," DG said, giving her friend a hug. The three children walked down the steps to the cars were. Athaliea and Ahamo were already seated inside the one Thalie and Vaeda stopped near.

"I'll miss you both," Sky said earnestly.

"Really? We won't miss you," Thalie told him. Sky clapped a hand over her mouth and held her head trapped next to him as she frowned up at him.

"Bye, V," he said, hugging Vaeda.

"Bye." Then she leaned close and said, "Thanks for everything."

Sky straightened up, shrugging. "What're friends for?" Then he turned to Thalie and held her head between his hands so that her lips were forced into a pout. "Behave," he told her. Thalie rolled her eyes and hugged him around the middle, then climbed into the car.

"Come on, Vaeda," she called.

"Wait a minute, Vaeda," Madi said from the top of the steps. "Come here for a second."

Vaeda climbed back up as her parents got into their car.

"I haven't had the chance to talk to you since we got back," Madi said quietly. "But I wanted to tell you we were in the Tower, you did something really great by trying to save Jeb, even though it was dangerous. It took really powerful magic and a lot of heart to do that. You were very brave, V."

Vaeda blushed. "I wasn't the only one who stopped him, my aunt--"

"They weren't there when you got him away from Jeb. I can't thank you enough for that," Madi said, shaking her head.

"Vaeda?" DG called, standing in the open door of her car.

"Coming," Vaeda answered.

"It was really impressive," Madi assured her. "Jeb thinks so too." She gave Vaeda another hug and shooed her off to the car, laying one arm around Sky's shoulders. They waved as the cars drove through the Embassy gates.

In the second car, Athaliea looked at Vaeda. "What are you so happy about?" she asked, smiling.

"Nothing," Vaeda said, wriggling down in her seat. Still, she couldn't help but think that somehow, she had finally found her place.

* * *

Wow, here it is. The end of another story. So strange to be here. As always, I wish to thank my beloved reviewers, KLCtheBookWorm (even if my mistake did drive her up a wall), KateCayce, Future ADA, CountryPixie, Cigarettes and Moonlight, and Cat Yuy. The idea that I have people who are interested in and want to help me improve what I write means so much to me. Thank you. And, for the first time, I'd like to thank wildsky, my incredibly gifted beta. Keep your eyes open for another story about the girls. I have a couple more ideas up my sleeve for stories both about them and about the others. Until then,

Farrah (Fae) A.K.


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